Anxiety in the Time of a Pandemic

Anxiety is the feeling of tension, uneasiness and worry that is felt both physically and emotionally. Some people are wired through their family line to be more susceptible to feelings of anxiety, while others can be triggered by more difficult or complicated life situations. People who suffer from chronic anxiety tend to have other family members who also are challenged by anxiety.

Many people look for ways to make this feeling go away without considering the message it may be trying to convey. Often these feelings are pointing something out to you with the help of the body… something that is not working well in your life or some problem that has remained unconscious.

In our culture, many of us were taught not to make a big deal about things that upset them and just keep moving along. This “not make a being deal” can translate to “don’t feel” anything, which is unrealistic. When that message is shared long and hard enough, we push our natural feelings and responses down and our natural warning mechanism to things that don’t feel good no longer work.

Anxiety can be the first opportunity to look more closely at your beliefs and experiences with an open heart and mind, allowing the body to calm down knowing it will be listened to for the first time.

Often, because of the discomfort it can create physically, the first stop people often make is to their family physician. They want the feelings to disappear and the doctor will often prescribe medication as a way to mask the discomfort. At times, medication can be very helpful, as long as the person is willing to dig deep into their lives and find the root of the discomfort.

Only taking medication may alleviate the discomfort for a period of time, but if the message the body was trying to give you was not received, and the body may decide to get your attention in a much louder manner in order to help you get to the root of the problem.

Therapy is one tool that can allow people to discover what is cause of their anxious feelings as well as provide many tools to help manage the discomfort coming up.

One of the most useful tools I have found is to become curious about the feelings vs. trying to find a way to get rid of them right away.